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Erik Ten Hag has been officially announced as the new manager of Manchester United. He will take over his job at the end of the season. In the post match interview against Liverpool, Ralph Rangnick said that the squad needs a rebuild and backing needs to be given to Erik Ten Hag.
With players like Paul Pogba, Juan Mata, Jesse Lingard, Nemanja Matic out of contracts in the summer. It is important to Manchester United new boos, Erik Ten Hag to recruit the correct players to fit his fluid football system.
Now we take a look at 5 players that Erik Ten Hag might sign for Manchester United in the summer transfer window:
Declan Rice (West Ham United):
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Declan Rice doesn't carry himself like a junior member of the teams he plays in. Despite still very much being in the early stages of his career, Rice is a leader on and off the pitch for West Ham, and does a similar job when surrounded by senior players on international duty with England.
Rice is a defensive-minded player who does his best work winning the ball and protecting his defence. His seamless conversion from a central defender into a defensive midfielder – where he has shown a real talent for delaying and breaking up attacks, particularly at the point of an attacking transition for his opponents – has proved just how naturally that side of the game comes to him. He has an ability to spot danger that only the best ball-winners have; Rice is similar in that regard to N'Golo Kanté.
He is an incredibly powerful runner, and he is capable of carrying the ball forwards at pace to launch a counter or simply break lines before distributing to a teammate.
He has very good passing ability, and it is improving, too. While he is good at retaining and recycling possession, he plays vertical passes where possible, and he has the ability to play accurate, long-range diagonal passes towards an advancing winger to switch play. Most of the time he is conservative with his passing – playing simple passes to more attack-minded teammates – but given he can play dangerous balls forwards, opponents cannot sit off him and allow him space to pick his pass.
Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur):
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Harry Kane set himself incredibly high standards with his breathtaking goalscoring record in the first few seasons following his breakthrough at Tottenham. Under the guidance of Mauricio Pochettino, Kane developed into one of the best centre-forwards in the world, winning consecutive Premier League golden boots in 2015/16 and 2016/17 and then earning the England captaincy. After a spate of ankle injuries that threatened his consistent supply of goals, Kane bounced back each time, and has since developed into a different – and even more effective – player. In a more withdrawn role, he creates chances as often as scores goals himself.
Kane is as close to the perfect centre-forward as there is. He has no obvious weaknesses, scores goals of all types, is brilliant at holding the ball up, works tirelessly, creates for others, makes significant and crucial defensive contributions, and is a leader both on and off the pitch. A potential desire to leave Spurs in search of trophies could yet lead to a move, but if that does happen he will cost the club buying him a huge amount of money.
He scores numerous goals off first-time finishes but also likes to receive to feet and try to forge his own path to goal. He isn't quite as quick as he once was, so shifting the ball to one side before firing a shot off has become a less successful route to goal if a defender is tight to him, but he can still use skill to beat opponents and work himself a shooting opportunity.
Jurrien Timber (Ajax):
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Jurriën Timber had already managed to make a name for himself on multiple levels by the age of 20. Now an established member of the Eredivisie's dominant champions, AFC Ajax, the young defender has burst onto the scene over the past couple of seasons.
After making his debut in the least league game before lockdown, he returned from the enforced break with an even more important role in the first-team squad. The following summer, he was part of the Dutch team at the delayed EURO 2020.
Movement at the back is vital to Ajax's evolved attacking approach, especially as Timber is a huge facilitator for others around him in a system so focused on more grounded and guarded mechanisms to sustain pressure.
Timber is incredibly patient and will use every second he's given to manipulate the opposition in order to create alleyways elsewhere. He'll slowly adjust his position with the ball so that he can create space for teammates to rotate into untracked and unseen.
Timber's defensive work is often much more forthright and aggressive. His positioning during final third attacks often puts him in good stead to press onto forwards immediately. When he has free reign attack opposition ball-holders, he's capable of timing his challenges from behind and finding the right space to reach through to nick the ball well. However, it's all a different matter when Timber is tasked with marking someone.
Antony (Ajax):
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Ajax winger Antony's career continues to go from strength to strength. The Dutch giants have enjoyed a dominant 2021/22 season so far, topping their Champions League group, leading the Eredivisie, and into a KNVB Beker semi-final: it has been a decent start.
11 goals and nine assists in under 2,000 minutes suggests that the 21-year-old has played a big part in that. The newly-capped Brazil international now looks likely to be a part of his nation's World Cup squad too, after playing in Brazil's last seven qualifying fixtures off the bench.
Much of the time, Antony enjoys hanging wide on the right so he can gain momentum after picking up the ball by driving inwards. His acceleration from a standing start is explosive; his elite balance and lower body strength allows him to remain on his feet even under heavy pressure – he is a worker with great endeavour, the type of player to clean up his own mess.
On his left foot, in a tiny segment of the pitch in the right-hand half-space just outside the penalty area, Antony likes to bend in floated crosses to the far post. At any time, he is likely to be servicing Lassina Traoré and now Sébastien Haller – a decent set of targets for any crosser. His command over the ball is masterful, the swing of his leg and shaping of his body illustrative of well-cultured muscle memory. It is a useful tool to have against sides intent on packing their own defensive third and congesting central areas.
Aurelien Tchouameni (AS Monaco):
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AS Monaco are notorious for their track-record of enabling young players to flourish, and 21-year-old midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni is the crown jewel of their current crop of talents.
Under former Bayern Munich boss Niko Kovac, Monaco play in a possession-based, high-pressing 3-4-3 or 4-4-2. Tchouameni plays as the anchoring player in the midfield double pivot, usually alongside the energetic Youssouf Fofana. His 12 appearances in Ligue 1 after just 13 match days reflect how central he is to Kovac's system and tactical approach.
Tchouameni is extremely well-rounded technically, allowing him to contribute to Monaco's ball progression in a variety of ways. As they build from the back, Kovac instructs the centre-backs to look for short, central passing options when possible, rather than trying to play through the flanks.
Tchouameni is frequently able to escape opposition cover shadow and pose as a passing option.Once he's controlled the ball, Tchouameni is a proactive passer who will attempt riskier passes that progress play forwards as opposed to safer lateral or backwards passes.
The Frenchman is also an above-average ball-carrier. He only attempts 1.15 dribbles per 90, but completes them at an 83% success rate. Tchouameni's acceleration and physical strength mean he is hard to stop when he drives forward with the ball.
Defensively, Tchouameni stands out as an elite ball-winner. For metrics such as pressures, tackles, interceptions, and aerial duels won, he ranks among the best performing midfielders in Europe's top five leagues. Monaco press high and aggressively in a 4-2-4 shape, meaning Tchouameni needs to cover large swaths of space behind the first line of the press.
Erik Ten Hag will surely be interested in bringing one or more of these above mentioned players to Old Trafford in the summer as he looks to rebuild and take back Manchester United to the absolute top of European football. The appointment of Erik Ten Hag is surely going to be very interesting for the fans of Manchester United nd European football as a whole
